"I am Iron Man."

Had Tony Stark known the cascading consequences of his words when he'd first spoken them, he may have taken the cop-out Coulson had prepared. He'd brushed it off, overconfident as always and for the first time in years excited to forge a diverging path.

He tucked Coulson's carefully prepared queue cards into his suit jacket, pulling his expensive sunglasses down the bridge of his nose.

Noise erupted from every corner of the room. Expressions shifted from doubtful to watchful in the gathered crowd, anticipation blooming in the depths of reporters eyes.

The conference ended mere moments thereafter, Pepper Potts urging him off the stage with spritely care. "Tony-" She said, hand reaching up to Tony's arm gingerly.

"Pep, really? It's okay, it's alright. I'm gonna stay." His grin became a pout, but he acquiesced at the stern look on her face. He tossed out a peace sign to the eager crowd, enjoying the laughs it garnered.

"Guess I've gotta go. Pepper Potts everyone" he called out, already being guided off stage.

"She's the real hero here."

Reporters plastered mics and cameras in their faces as Pepper led Tony off the stage, apologizing with affable grace as she followed with a hasty exit.

In the empty hall, Tony turned to Pepper with a look of surprised amusement.

"Uh, Pepper. Did I just see Happy take the podium?"

"Oh my god, Tony, really?"

"And you thought you had to watch me. Better go get him before he can cause any real damage."

"Tony! What were you thinking? How could you not take this seriously, you don't take anything seriously-"

Tony squeezed her shoulder gently as she stopped, agitated, then softened all at once. "Everything will be okay." She looked like she had more to say. Tony had no doubt it would come in the form of a stern lecture that night. She pressed her lips into a firm line, turning on the spot to re-enter the conference room. Questions and camera flashes blared in the quiet hall for just a moment before being silenced again as the door closed.

He watched the door for a moment, smiling to himself, then pulled the queue cards back out of his pocket, settling into a moment of self doubt as his thumb traced over the printed words.

The feeling passed as quickly as it came, and the cards were tossed into the nearest trash can.


Blue lights glowed faintly in an otherwise dark lab, creating a calm ambiance broken by soft beeping and faint flashes as programs ran and updated themselves. Coffee mugs adorned nearly every surface, interspersed with hand tools and oily rags reflecting back some of the soft blue glow. A threadbare couch sat unused in one corner. It's clean lines and sturdy feet betrayed it's condition, hinting at a more expensive origin than it now presented. Green liquid had been dried onto one arm. An empty pizza box hid halfway under the other end. A coffee table had been upturned nearby, precariously balancing what looked to be a red metal disc with sticky notes barely attached.

Amongst the clutter sat a large robot, grabbing pluckily at a wrench left on the floor. It beeped in turmoil as it failed to maintain its hold, sending the tool clanging to the ground.

It whirred and hummed as it recalculated its trajectory, opening its claw and planting it firmly against the concrete trying again to pick up the affronting tool. For a moment it seemed to succeed, whirring loudly again and rearing up its long arm.

This was an accident, apparently, as it lost its grip, sending the little wrench clanging back into the recesses of the lab.

"Ow! What? What are you doing? What were you trying to do? And who told you you could do that anyways, no- go on. Try again. You'll never learn that way."

Despite the litany of criticism, there was a warm lilt to his deep voice as Tony admonished U. He looked back at his computer for just a second before turning a spurious glance at Dummy, who was quickly emerging from his charging bay to help his friend.

This was yet another mistake, and Tony winced as Dummy overshot his rescue and ran over the wrench. Now lost to the realities of physics, both robots were attempting to nudge the wrench out from under Dummy's tract.

Tony chimed with laughter, crows feet crinkling at the corners of his eyes. "Jarvis."

"Yes, sir. I am attempting to signal both Dummy and U to roll away from the wrench, but they are refusing to respond."

"Refusing to respond!" Tony parroted, furrowing dark brows as he looked up at Jarvis' speaker. "What do you mean 'refusing to respond'? I programmed them, J. What does that say about me- Hey!" Dummy and U now pressed their struts together and bent their claws down in unison, attempting to force the wrench out. "Come on, I taught you guys better. Dummy, get off of that. You're worthless, gotta start earning your square footage around here. Didn't I tell you to clean up the couch, too? Come on. I should replace you with a real intern."

He headed to where they were struggling, reaching a calloused hand out to stroke Dummy's strut. It turned it's sensor towards Tony, whirring in distress.

"Just kidding, I'm kidding. Don't get upset. Look, you're gonna make U cry. Hey now, I wouldn't replace you with a real intern, I'd have to feed them." He frowned. "And pay them. Come to think of it-" He continued, pushing Dummy gently as the robot took its cue to roll backwards, "Better to just build a couple multi million dollar robots to clean things up."

Tony raised a cocky brow looking over his creations. He flipped the wrench in his hand, offering it to U who took it in a very gentle grip. The robots turned to each other, then broke out in a raucous chorus of whirring and chirps. They raced around to the other side of Tony's desk, carefully and slowly placing the wrench on top of a mug. Humming again in celebration, they bobbled their arms, turning towards another messy area of the lab. On the way, U craned his strut across the desk, knocking both the wrench and the coffee mug to the ground.

"Really?" Tony reprimanded, ready to go off again, but was cut off by a laugh from his door.

"You should consider hiring some real interns, Stark."

"Rhodes." He smiled brightly, reaching a hand out to Rhodey who turned up a raised brow. The man in question strode comfortably into the space, unfettered by the delicacy of complexity of his surroundings.

"Really man?" He set his War Machine suit on the group and pulled Tony in for a hug. The inventor resisted for a moment, then settled in and clapped his friend on the back. They turned back to the broken mug on the ground, sharing a wry look. It need not be said that Tony would not be cleaning that up. Not now, and probably, not ever.

Tony looked Rhodes over as they pulled back. He was dressed casually in slacks and polo, posture loosening as he perched on the edge of the nearest desk. Rhodey grimaced once more at the cup, rubbing his wrist tenderly as he did.

"What's going on?" He titled his head to Rhodey's wrist. "Is that chafing I see? Is it the suit?"

"Just a bit rough in the cuffs-" Rhodey started, but Tony was already going to work, becoming animated as he took the War Machine. A quick press of the heel and the suit was unfolding, coming alive as if knowing it's creator was at hand.

The intricate metal unfolded with precision, gleaming in the soft lights of the lab. Tony reached for it with practiced hands, already shooting off commands to Dummy, U and Jarvis as his eyes focused on everything and nothing.

Rhodey sat back further on his perch, a soft smile growing on his face. He watched in adulation as Tony glided towards the nearest platform, slapping the suit onto it gracelessly then slapping Dummy's strut as the robot reached for a metal arm.

"Gonna have to adjust for your wrist size - I have dainty wrists, you know that. That's why - Stop that Dummy. It's not a toy. Well maybe to you - We're gonna have to resize it, need to take some measurements before you leave. Maybe it's time for that body scan, gotta find that scanner, I built a new one last time you were here-"

The soldier listened patiently as he watched with a warm gaze, nodding and agreeing every so often to show he was listening. He wasn't, not really. Tony was a genius. Many would and did pay to hear him speak, but Rhodey knew Tony wasn't speaking for his benefit. His friend was moving too fast, mind a mile a minute and his mouth faster still. Rhodey liked to think himself a smart man, too, he liked to think he was capable of understanding most concepts with a moderate effort, but the ideas shooting out of the man before him were wasted.

"Hey, Tony." He eventually piped up, seeing the brunette's eyes dart up momentarily without focusing. "Listen, Tone- We gotta talk about something."

The movement continued for a moment before Tony paused, finally looking at his friend. He frowned and coughed, grimacing as he tried to deflect The Conversation.

"The, uh, scan should only take a second if-"

"Tony, Tony. That's enough. Look at me man." At that, he knew he had Tony's attention. Jerking his thumb towards the door, Rhodey pushed himself off the desk. "Wanna go to the roof? It's a nice night out."

As if sensing the resistance incoming, Rhodey let out an easy laugh. "Come on, Tony. You knew Pepper would send me down here eventually. Hey Jarvis, you mind giving us a moment?"

"For you, Sir-" came the disembodied voice politely, already shutting down the lab "anything."


Rhodey eventually coaxed Tony onto the roof, grabbing an armful of beers on the way. Tony grabbed a blanket, tossing it over Rhodey's back as they walked.

"We should add a cape to your costume, Prince Charming." He offered. Rhodey smiled and shook his head.

They settled into patio chairs, an easy silence enveloping them before Tony could breach the silence.

"You bring me up here to kill me Rhodes? I knew Pepper would send you, this is a betrayal." He rambled lightly, fumbling to keep the conversation light.

He tossed Rhodey a beer, setting his own down for a moment to tuck Rhodey's blanket under his armpits, grinning when his friend humoured him. "A cape, we're gonna keep you nice and warm up there. Can't have you catching a cold, Rhodes, I haven't figured out the heaters in the suit just yet."

"Tony."

Silence settled again for a moment and Stark wiggled back in his chair with a frown, covering his legs with a jacket.

"We're worried about you. I think you've bit off more than you can chew this time."

At the silence that followed and his friend's blank forward facing stare, Rhodey gestured back at the Malibu house with his beer. The windows were still blown out, moving boxes stacked up against the interiour walls with tarps thrown haphazardly on top. The broken glass was thankfully swept and removed, the obvious debris with it. A jet was parked awkwardly in the front of the house, it's stairway open awaiting more boxes to be loaded on.

"You've got the move, Congress on your ass- You've got boxes laying there open to the elements, Tony. The tower is gonna be finished any time, and I know you're consulting with Shield now, ah ah-" he tutted as Tony made to object "Yeah you got Senator Stern to serve our medals, man, that was killer, I'll give you that!" He laughed, watching as his friend finally relaxed into a subject Rhodey knew he'd like to avoid.

He'd known Tony Stark for a long time, longer perhaps than anyone else alive. He had a habit of avoiding self care, avoiding even the mention of it in conversation. His own life had meant nothing, and if his presence was robbed from the world, well, Rhodey had known Tony not to think of it as an issue.

But that was changing, Rhodey noticed too, watching his friend mature since his dramatic return from Afghanistan. At first the changes were all at once, but now the realities of being Iron Man, being a man who was accountable to his word, were catching up on Tony. Worry had settled in to every line of his face, his posture never quite as relaxed as it once was. In his usual way he retreated into his workshop, forgoing food and daylight while he let his work take over, only coming out for missions and meetings. He was taking his image and his purpose seriously, but his health was lagging behind.

Sometimes, Rhodes knew, he had to come to Tony. Had to force him to look in a mirror. Starting on his train of thought, Rhodey reached into his pocket. "Look."

Tony started as well, wrinkling his brow at the offered package. "Sorry. It's just. I don't like being handed things."

A beat passed in dead silence as Rhodey's face squared, gaze unwavering. "You being serious right now? Take the damn sandwich man."

Tony broke out in a laugh, reaching out for the little paper wrapped meal. He maintained his composure for exactly two seconds before tearing into the package with practiced fingers and teeth, spitting out a bit paper when his friend laughed. Suddenly ravenous, Tony thanked him between hearty mouthfuls of meat and bread, nodding fervently in approval.

"This from Franciellis? You know I love that place. Gotta get them to open a franchise in New York. Hey! Maybe I should just buy it, streamline things a bit, you know…"

Rhodey waited patiently for Tony to get back to his food, casting a nurturing eye on his friend.

"Tony… I need to make sure that you're taking care of yourself. You know we care about you. I don't want you burning out because you're pushing yourself too hard, taking care of everybody but yourself."

"Just promise me" he forged on "that you're gonna do that. You're gonna feed yourself a real vegetable, every day. And go outside. And take Pepper out. She's a special woman, she's got special needs-"

Tony gave him a skewed look as Rhodey stopped himself, "No, that's not what I meant. You know what I meant, dude. Get her something nice, take her on vacation. And take yourself on vacation. You don't have to worry about me or the suit til you get settled in New York. The world can wait til Tony Stark gets a good night of sleep."

Sandwich devoured during Rhodey's short speech, Tony prepared to make a smart retort. "I am a grown man. At least physically. I have nowhere to go but down." He joked, but Rhodey fixed him with a look and nudge on the forearm. Tony glanced down to see another beer already opened in his friends hand, he hadn't been paying attention. He took the beer, becoming transfixed as his friend schooled a more serious look.

"I love you Tony. I don't wanna see anything happen to you."

Tony let out a long sigh, settling back against his chair again and shimmying further under the jacket draped over his legs. He raised two dark eyebrows when Rhodey shimmied his own chair up against his. Tony melted morosely as Rhodes wriggled his blanket free from where Tony had tucked it in, stretching it out over the genius' legs so they were sandwiched together in warmth.

They sat in darkness and the chilled sea breeze settled heavy like fog. Minutes passed in timid silence, both only moving to sip at their beers.

They gazed out over the dark ocean, lights of the Malibu coast forgotten behind. Stars twinkled resolutely above, unaware and uncaring of the two men gazing silently below. The sky devoid of life, cementing their isolation, and their need, Tony thought, to stay together.

Rhodey wasn't expecting Tony's strong arm to settle over the back of his chair, but didn't object to being pulled closer.

"I love you too, Rhodes."

Author's note:

Thanks for reading! A piece of fanart to accompany this story will be up soon.

It's gonna be a long one, so buckle up kids. This fic will span Iron Man 1 through Infinity War and beyond. Please leave feedback if you feel like, and lemme know if you have any stylistic suggestions for speaking or writing. Stuffs tough.